


Sound of Silence

by LittlePupmkinPrince



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: But not that bad, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Touchy Robotnik, can also be read as platonic friendship, hearing impaired character, secret husbands, soft robotnik, stone gets hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlePupmkinPrince/pseuds/LittlePupmkinPrince
Summary: The doctor wants to show Stone his latest invention. But something goes terribly wrong and the doctor learns something new about his favourite agent.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Agent Stone, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 3
Kudos: 95





	Sound of Silence

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction in English. So if you find any mistakes, please let me know. Have fun reading it and I hope you enjoy this little Au idea. Maybe I will write a second chapter, but I can't promise anything.

Stone was just about to clear some stuff off one of the doctor's desks when he heard loud cheering. At the other end of the lab, Robotnik was bouncing up and down excitedly. "Agent Stone, it's done, come look." Smiling, he walked over to the doctor and looked at his latest creation. "Stone, do you know what a sensation you're looking at right now?". Stone just shook his head. Robotnik snorted "of course you don't know, how could you?”. With a dramatic gesture he points to the machine. "This here, is a brand new power source. It's much more powerful, runs purely on eco-friendly power and best of all, it never needs recharging".

Fascinated, Stone looked at the device, which was not larger than a computer tower. "Amazing doctor. May I ask how this is possible?", "You can, and it's good you ask.” Robotnik pushed one of the metal panels open and a bluish glowing container appeared behinde it. "I have developed a method to isolate and transfer the energy from the hedgehog's sting. This generator is designed to control the energy and convert it into an infinite usable power source". Stone listened carefully to the doctor, who kept pointing at different parts of the generator. "Imagine, an infinite energy source, what could be all done with it". Stone smiled at the doctor "as always a brilliant invention doctor." Visibly proud of himself, the doctor pulled a remote control out of his pocket.

"Exactly, brilliant is the right word, Stone. I've already connected parts of the lab's power lines to the generator to run a field test. So Stone, look and be amazed". With these words, Robotnik pressed one of the buttons and took a few steps to the side. Stone, on the other hand, moved closer to the device as it started to whirr to life. After that everything went down very quickly. Within seconds, the whirring swelled to a threatening hum and the small generator began to shake on the table. The next thing Stone could remember was some kind of explosion. Instead of a wall of fire, however, he was hurled against the metallic walls of the laboratory by an enormous pressure wave, while the roaring sound of the burning electrical wires filled the air.

Deep darkness fell over Stone after the impact. As he gradually regained consciousness, there was dead silence in the laboratory. He laboriously opened his eyes and tried to get a clear picture. The red emergency light had come on and immersed the room in an eerie atmosphere. Stone's head felt as if it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces every minute. As he tried to stand up, he realized that his body felt heavy like lead. Too exhausted to think about it any further, he fell into deep blackness again. The next time he woke up, his upper body was shaken. Afterwards he felt a stabbing pain in his face, someone had obviously slapped him. Angrily he opened his heavy eyes, only to look into the very worried and sooty face of the doctor.

He moved his mouth, but without saying anything, and surprisingly took Stone in his arms for a strong hug. Stone felt Robotnik's chest vibrate as he spoke, however he didn't understand a word. Even the doctor seemed to notice that something was wrong. He pushed Stone away from him and looked at him again with a serious expression. It seemed as if Robotnik was asking Stone a question, but once again, all he could hear was some kind of hissing and distant murmurs. Stone did not understand what was going on. His head continued to pound, his shoulders hurt and in the meantime, he became dizzy again. Confused, he asked the doctor what had happened. Robotnik then began to talk frantically, which could only be heard as a dull huddle of faint noises and this time too the world remained mostly silent for Stone.

It suddenly hit him like a train, in shock he touched his ears. His hearing aids must have been damaged by the shock wave. Without further thought, Stone stood up quickly, which turned out to be a mistake. Immediately, the world started spinning like a merry-go-round and Stone gasped for breath due to the throbbing pain in his temple. Before he could smash in the ground, the doctor caught him and carefully put him down on the floor. Gently, with both hands he took Stone's face and looked at him intensely. With a frightened expression on his face, he addressed Stone again. Before Robotnik could finish what he was saying, Stone shook his head with his hand pointing to his ear. "Doctor, I'm very sorry, but I can't hear you. The shock wave must have damaged my hearing aids." Robotnik apparently wanted to answer, but closed his mouth again immediately. Without further hesitation, he stood up and made it clear to Stone that he should remain seated.

After he rummaged around in the chaos in the lab for a while, he came back to Stone with a note pad and a pencil. Hectically he wrote something on the paper. He then showed the pad to Stone. "Are you okay otherwise?", was written in scrawly letters. "Depends how you look at it. I guess nothing's broken. But judging from the headaches, I have a concussion and probably severe bruising on my back.” Robotnik just nodded and wrote something on the paper again. "And your ears?", it now said. Stone smiled embarrassed. "As far as I can tell, I'm not in any pain because them. I guess it's probably just my hearing aids that are broken." He fiddled around with the hearing aids for a while, and then handed the doctor two small devices. "I don't know when they can be repaired or when I'll get new ones. So, for the next days I won't be much help," said Stone with a tortured expression on his face.

Almost outraged, the doctor looked at him. He took the small plugs out of Stone's hand and put them in his pocket. Then a Batnik floated up and started to scan him. Stone opened his mouth to ask how the doctor was. But he didn't get that far, because Robotnik put his hand over his mouth. Afterwards he wrote a new message "Aban don't worry about it, I'm fine and now we'll worry about your head first". With that he put his pad and pencil in his pocket and gently pulled Stone by his arm on his legs. The Batnik had completed his analysis and flew blinking away. Since Stone obviously couldn't walk alone, Robotnik supported him and almost dragged him out of the lab. Stone suddenly felt very tired and noticed how the world was spinning again. Merely on the edge he did notice that Robotnik was saying something again. But he couldn't tell whether it was meant for him or whether he was talking to himself.

Only when he was gently laid down on a soft mattress Stone did realize where the doctor had taken him. He lay in bed in Robotnik's bedroom. The light was dimmed down so far that you could just see in the small room. From the attached bathroom, on the other hand, a strong beam of light came out. Robotnik was nowhere to be seen, so Stone assumed he was in the bathroom. Without further thought, Stone sank deeper into the pillows that smelled so familiar. The doctor seemed to have removed his jacket and his shoes were gone too. Shortly before Stone could fall asleep, he was softly shaken at the shoulder. Robotnik handed him a glass of water and some pills. Wordlessly, Stone took both and flushed all the tablets down with the entire water. Afterwards he fell back into the pillows exhausted and sank into a dreamless sleep without further words. He couldn't see how Robotnik lovingly stroked him through the hair and then left him alone.

-

When Robtnik closed the door behind him, his legs gave out from exhaustion. Slowly he slid down the door and remained sitting on the floor in front of the bedroom. He had survived the accident without injuries, except for a few scratches. But the fear for his beloved agent had robbed him of all energy. After the explosion he had desperately searched for Stone in the chaos. He had never expected anything like this to happen. When he saw Aban lying motionless in the corner, his heart almost stopped. The thought of losing him in such a stupid accident still made him shiver. His relief was so great when Stone woke up that he just had to hold the young man close to him. But when he didn't react to his waterfall of words a new wave of fear took hold of him.

Robotnik knew that Stone had a relatively large medical record, which agent did not. But he had never noticed that he was hearing impaired and he worried about his attention toward the agent. On the other hand, he was a little disappointed that Aban had never told him about it. Didn't he trust him? Fortunately, the Batnik's scan had shown that Stone really didn't had any worse injuries and the concussion was not serious. So, it was nothing that a few painkillers and rest could solve. Only the hearing would be a problem in the next days. Angry Robotnik reached into his pocket and took out the two earpieces.

"What primitive technology," Robotnik muttered while holding them between his fingers. Both were skin-colored and had the size of a large bean. They were really nothing special and probably not even a new model. Robotnik was sure he could probably make something so simple much better and in just a few hours. Suddenly he had a brilliant idea. Hastily Robotnik got up and hurried back to his laboratory. The doctor made his way through the mess and cleared his workplace. He would certainly not allow Stone to spend the next few days in silence.

-

When Stone woke up, his head was still throbbing, but not as bad as it had been a few hours ago. Although, he wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. The doctor's bedroom had no windows, so he couldn't tell what time it was. Right now, he didn't care. Sighing, he snuggled back into the pillows. He still felt tired and Robotnik probably wouldn't mind spending some more time in bed. Suddenly he felt his stomach tighten and that he really needed to go somewhere. Stone realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. Surrendering to his biological needs, he flipped back the blanket and disappeared on shaky legs into the bathroom. When he came back into the bedroom, he only then noticed that there was a glass of water, a blister of pills and a note on the bedside table.

Surprised, Stone took the piece of paper. In Robotnik's handwriting it said, "When you feel better, come to the lab". Stone smiled as he took the pills. There seemed to be no hurry, so he made a short detour to the small kitchen. As usual, the fridge didn't give much, so he made himself a simple cucumber sandwich. His stomach also didn't seem to be able to take much at the moment. But he knew that he had to eat something, so he slowly choked down his meal. After Stone was done, he went in his socks to the lab. There was hardly any light in the room, yet Stone still realized that it looked catastrophic. Papers, tools, furniture and even larger building components were lying around everywhere. It would probably take him a while to clean up the mess. Stone slowly made his way through the lab, trying not to stumble over anything in the dim light. Only the doctor's workplace was brightly lit.

Stone wondered whether he should call for Robotnik, until it occurred to him that he couldn't understand the answer. Only when he stood directly in front of the desk he saw that the doctor was fast asleep. On the table were numerous sketches and mechanical parts. But Stone couldn't tell what the doctor was working on exactly because the drawings didn't make sense to him. Probably it was the reason why he was supposed to come to the lab. Maybe Robotnik had found out why his generator had exploded, not that he blamed him for it. Accidents happen, and even a genius like the doctor made mistakes, even though he would never admit it.

A smile flashed across Stone’s face as he looked down at the doctor's peaceful face. He would guarantee not to wake him, whatever he wanted to show him would have time. Just as Stone was about to leave, a hand held him gently by his wrist. The doctor slowly opened his eyes and smiled warmly at the agent. He got up out of the chair with verve so that it rolled backwards and rattled against something. Without warning, he took Stone in his arms and squeezed him tightly.

Stone returned the hug before the doctor released him again. He scurried around the table frantically until he found a pen. Apparently, there was still mostly no real electricity for the lab. On the back of one of the sketches he wrote "How are you Aban? Are you still in pain?". "I feel like I got hit by a bus, but I can't complain otherwise. The painkillers seem to be treating the headaches well. I just can't remember the accident very good," Stone replied while Robotnik looked at him seriously. He just nodded in response and pulled out a box from his coat pocket.

Suprised, Stone looked at the box, which the doctor pressed into his hand with a rather broad grin. Stone tried to ask about the chest, but Robotnik just waved him down and pointed at the box. When Stone opened it, there were on red fabric two tiny little black cylinders that looked a bit like very, very small earrings. Confused, Stone looked at the doctor, not understanding. Robotnik rolled his eyes slightly and pointed first at the black things and then at his ear. Now Stone understood what was in his hand. Carefully he took one of the plugs and put it in his ear. For a brief moment he felt a very weird sensation, as if he had water in his ear canal. Robotnik just beamed at him like a child at Christmas. Stone quickly put the other device in and felt the strange feeling again.

"And do you hear something again?", Stone suddenly heard. He had never understood the doctor more clearly. His surprised expression must have amused Robotnik as his grin widened. "How, how did you?" stuttered Stone. The doctor snorted amusedly, "Remember, I'm a genius and I can finish something as banal as a pair of hearing aids before breakfast." "And did you..... so how could you make them so small?" Stone asked. "Oh, it wasn't hard, the technology behind it isn't that complex. Thanks to shape-memory alloy the devices remain stable in the ear. They run on the body's own bioelectricity. So no more silly battery changes or recharging. That was admittedly the biggest problem, but I'm not gonna let that stop me." The doctor got a little flushed "for my favorite agent only the best after all" Stone blew a low "Awww" and he hugged the doctor gently. "Thank you Ivo, this is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," he whispered softly.

Robotnik let his head rest on Stone's shoulder and with one hand gently stroke his hair. For a few minutes they stood like this in the devastated laboratory. "I can still delay the clean-up until later, right?" whispered Stone after a while. Abruptly, the doctor released him and grabbed him by the shoulders "For heaven's sake, of course. You have a concussion and it's four in the morning." Stone swallowed audibly. The accident had probably happened just before noon. So he had slept for more than half a day and the doctor had probably worked for the same amount of time. "Aban, are you all right?" Robotnik asked him, which put him out of his thoughts. Stone smiled a bit tiredly "Hmm, I'm just realizing how exhausted I still am. And I'm still not sure what exactly happened." As he spoke he noticed that the pounding in his head became more intense and it became difficult to concentrate.

With an inviting gesture Robotnik pointed towards the door "what a coincidence that I just have some time to take a nap. Stone would you like to join me?"It was more than obvious that the doctor having time was a lie. He always had something to do, and he wasn't either a fan of much sleeping. But Stone knew he meant good and was too exhausted to discuss it, so he nodded and slowly walked to the door. He almost tripped over something and only Robotnik's firm grip prevented him from also breaking his nose. "Slowly, I think I better take the lead," and with that the doctor left the lab with a suddenly very tired agent. Back in the bedroom, Stone inelegantly fell into bed while Robotnik got rid of his coat and shoes. When he was finally lying next to Stone, he pulled the younger one closer to him. Stone sighed with satisfaction and slowly drifted off into the dream world. But before he fell asleep completely, he whispered a quiet "thank you" to Robotnik, who in response only gave him a kiss on the forehead. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you have a concussion, please go to a hospital. Also reminder: take your meds, stay hydrated and eat.


End file.
